juliet •peter pan•

SEVENTY-SIX

Juliet and Henry sprinted back to Storybrooke as fast as they could. The first place they went was the library. When they had gotten what they needed, they left the library, only to find the whole gang. Henry immediately ran over to hug his moms.

"It's me!" He exclaimed. "I'm me! It worked!" Emma sighed in relief. "Mom, I just saw you guys. You guys just saw me." He pulled away from the hug, rambling. 

"But we didn't see you." Regina apologized. Henry handed the scroll in his hand to Emma. 

"Oh, he's got it." Emma remarked. She turned to Regina. "It's up to you now." Regina took the scroll, hesitantly looking at it. Then, suddenly, she fell to the ground. Juliet ran to catch her so that she wouldn't hit her head. "Regina!" Emma called out. She kept calling to Regina to try to wake her up. After a few minutes, Regina opened her eyes, still clutching the scroll. She looked up at Emma.

"Emma." She whispered, sitting up.

"What happened? Are you okay?" The blonde asked. Regina nodded.

"Yes. I'm fine. I just..." She stopped talking mid-sentence.

"What is it?" Mary Margaret asked, concern visible on her face. "What happened when you touched it?" Regina sighed.

"I saw what needed to be done." She looked at Henry, a somber look on her face. 

"Mom, are you gonna be okay?" Henry asked, fearing the worst. Regina bent down to his eye level.

"The important thing is you will be." She brought her hand up to his chin, and he rested his hand on her arm.

"No he won't." A voice spoke up. The group looked up to see Pan walking towards them. Juliet sighed. The revelation from Pan had left her feeling conflicted on her feelings toward him. On the one hand, he had tried to kill her cousin and was about to curse Storybrooke. On the other hand, he only considered killing Henry because he didn't want to live without her. 

"He has the..." Hook started to say, but Pan waved his hand and everyone stilled. Juliet couldn't move a limb. 

"Curse." Pan finished his sentence, holding up the scroll. "That I do." He chuckled, looking at everybody. "Look at you all. A captive audience. I could play with you like a pack of dolls, couldn't I?" Juliet frowned internally, since she couldn't move. "And I think I'll start with these two." 

He walked over to Belle and Neal. "Hmm, and you both look so adorable. Hard to tell which one to kill first." He sighed, shaking his head. "No, it isn't. You." He pointed to Neal. "You first." Juliet tried her best to glare at him. 

Suddenly, Gold appeared and put his hand on Pan's shoulder, pulling him back. 

"Stay away from them." He warned his father. Gold smirked.

"Well, how about this? The worm has teeth. You're here to protect your loved ones?" He mocked. Rumple sighed.

"I'm not going to let you touch either one of them." Pan chuckled.

"Oh? Well, I'd like to see that." 

"Oh you will." Gold assured him. "Because I have a job to finish. And I have to do it, whatever it takes." He took two steps toward Pan. "No loopholes." Juliet's stomach dropped. "And what needs to be done has a price. A price I am finally willing to pay." He looked over at Neal. "I used the curse to find you, Bae. To tell you I made a mistake. To make sure you had a chance at happiness. And that happiness is possible, just not with me. I accept that." Pan scoffed. 

"Pretty, pretty words." Gold ignored his father, tears welling in his eyes as he looked at his son. 

"I love you, Bae." He whispered, turning his attention to Belle. "And I love you, Belle. You made me stronger."